On Saturday, November 19th, ten students from Howell's travelled to Swansea University to take part in the Schools' Debating Competition. College students Udita D, Ishrat C and Teeda E-A were joined by Senior School students Doriana D (Year 11) and Anoushka S, Isabel H, Siani K, Ayesha A, Dani K and Angona S (all in Year 9) in three rounds of impromptu debates on the varied topics of animal tourism, climate change and TV talent shows.
All the teams performed creditably and achieved at least a second place. Between them they came first in a total of five debates, a particularly pleasing result since several students were taking part in a competition for the very first time. We were especially delighted that Udita (Year 13) and Ishrat (Year 12) broke in first place for the final, debating whether it is justified to rig elections in order to preserve democracy. Inevitably, the recent Presidential election in the USA was referenced by more than one speaker in the debate!
At the close of the competition, the top ten individual speakers were announced, with Ishrat in second place overall and Udita awarded the cup for best speaker. It was a most enjoyable and successful day.
